Troubled Sleep
by Jaal Ama Darav
Summary: Leading an organized resistance, and shouldering the survival of your entire species on your shoulders is a great burden. And it is no surprise, that when Evfra sleeps, nightmares sometimes paid a visit.


**Troubled Sleep**

**A/N- the second of three fics for Five Days of Halloween**

* * *

Evfra de Tershaav's light blue eyes looked over the datapad in his hand.

* * *

**Kett slave labor camp raided. **

Report from Anjik do Xeel,

A major labor camp was discovered, and raided with the help of Asari Commando units. The Kett were employing stolen modified turrets from the Milky Way species to keep intruders out and keep the prisoners in. Despite the power of the turrets, the Asari stood strong with their biotic barriers until the turrets were offline.

343 Angaran prisoners were freed from the facility. Zero casualties for the Resistance and our allies. Kett presence eliminated. And several Angaran artifacts recovered.

* * *

_Zero casualties… _

A ghost of a smile graced Evfra's face.

He had never seen a mission like this come and go with zero Angaran casualties, and it was thanks to these biotics. He could say the Kett have invaded the wrong cluster, the Initiative were just seventy nine years late, they had been here for two years of the war, making it eighty one years total of fighting the Kett.

He turned to his communications officer Raske. "Raske, inform Anjik to tell the teams they did a great job, and to keep up the good work."

Raske nodded, and looked to the control console and brought up the communications screen.

Another Angara nearby monitoring the sensors in the Onaon system tensed. "Evfra, come here quick! Unknown signatures in the system!"

Evfra hurried over, and looked at the sensor screen and indeed there were a group of signatures that had flown out of the Scourge on the opposite end of the pathway the Pathfinder used whenever she visited. "Perhaps the back door passageway I informed Bain Massani of? Try to raise them on the comms, Scourge can interfere with precise scans."

The Angara did so. "Incoming transmission...wait...this isn't right. It's not matching his cruiser or the Pathfinder's ship!"

A voice, unmistakably Kett, issued from the comms. "Found you! You have hidden all these years, but none stay hidden from the Kett forever!"

"Skkut!" Evfra's eyes betrayed his fear. He headed to the console Raske was standing in front of. "Aside, please!" Raske moved aside to let Evfra in front of the console. The Resistance leader brought up the communications. He muttered under his breath. "Ancestors...let this work...let this work..."

'Connecting Tempest: failed.'

"Skkut!" Evfra exhaled deeply and tried elsewhere.

'Connecting Bain Massani: failed."

His tone was becoming desperate "No!" He tried somewhere close by.

;Connecting Angara Resistance Base on Voeld: failed.'

His breathing quickened. "No! No! No!" He tried the other close location.

'Connecting Nexus: failed.'

Evfra's breathing quickened, fear setting in like the deepest, darkest, coldest nights on Voeld. Another location, this time on Havarl.

'Connecting Jaadeen: Failed.'

"Stars!" He tried Eos. "Let this work!"

'Connecting Prodromos. Establishing connection. Failed.'

"No!" He tried Kadara, his desperate last resort.

'Connecting Kadara Port. Establishing connection. Connection established." Evfra sighed in relief but a loud beep dashed his hopes. 'Connection failed.'

Bone-deep fear started setting in, but Evfra pushed past it. "Get the drop ships ready. And the evacuation ships as well. We're saving as many as we-"

A loud distant explosion, the entire place appeared to shake, and the power went out. Emergency lighting came on thanks to the backup generators which restored power to critical systems.

Evfra looked to a female Angara near him. "Are the drop ships and evacuation ships still viable?"

The Angara had a look of horror. "No...the Kett hit that area with orbital bombardment. We're trapped on this planet."

"We need to evacuate the civilians to the safe areas. They're not taking us and the planet without a fight." Evfra headed to a part of the wall by his desk. And with a wave of his bioelectricity infused hand, a hidden panel slid open, revealing an Isharay sniper rifle and Ushior pistol. He took and holstered the Ushior, then took the Isharay.

He looked out the window. Once clear blue skies were now clouded by dust and smoke from burning fires throughout the city. And Kett drop-ships and star-fighters flying overhead. And a Kett cruiser hovering in the distance.

He ran to the front door, and the scope of the carnage hit him.

A nightmare come true.

The streets were stained with blue blood, and littered with the bodies of Angara. He saw some of the bodies were children, and even a few infants; rage boiled up inside of him.

Resistance fighters defended surviving civilians and fought the Kett.

Evfra ran ahead to join the fight, and froze in place. He felt something restraining him, looked down, and saw the orange-red of corrupted bioelectricity binding him. He was flung into a wall, and pinned to it.

The Kett Ascendant responsible floated to the ground in front of him. "Found you, leader of the Resistance."

Evfra glared. "You skkutting monster!" He tried to move to grab his Ushior, having dropped his rifle when he was restrained and pinned to the wall. But his bindings were stronger than steel, he couldn't move an inch. He tried to summon his own bioelectricity, but even that eluded him.

He heard Raske cry out. "Let him go!" The Angara fired his Ushior pistol, but the Ascendant's barriers blocked it. Then a bioelectrical stream of energy from his hand, which the Ascendant used one hand to effortlessly catch and disperse. Then the Kett used its own corrupted bioelectricity to pick up Raske and started crushing him with it.

Raske screamed in terrible agony like no Angara should as his bones, and his organs, were crushed into a pulpy mess. What was left of him, barely recognizable as Angaran, was dropped to the floor with a sickening thud; blue blood pooling around the mess that used to be Raske.

Despair and rage settled in Evfra. "Raske! No!"

The Ascendant looked to Evfra with a wicked grin, it pulled off two syringes from holders at the waist, somehow still maintaining the corrupted red-orange bioelectrical field.

Evfra's eyes widened, fear rising in his stomach and chest. "What are you doing?!"

The Ascendant raised the syringes. "To Exaltation."

His voice was full of sheer terror. "No!" Evfra screamed before the needles pierced the flesh of his chest.

The Ascendant pushed on the plungers.

A terrible pain spread from the penetration points, nothing but sheer ache. Evfra screamed in agony and terror while the agony spread, his body twitched and convulsed as his bones cracked and broke, his organs morphed and changed.

And his mind was slipping, becoming one of the very monsters he swore to help his people defeat.

_I failed. _

_I failed everyone. _

* * *

Evfra awoke with a startle, drenched in cold sweat, breathing hard and fast. He saw the white ceiling of his living quarters, located near the Resistance headquarters. And he was bathed in moonlight from the large windows of his bedroom.

He sat up quickly, and looked over himself.

Still Angara, and not a Kett soldier.

He looked outside from his sitting position on the bed, and could see parts of the city. No smoke, no fires, all peaceful.

_Skkutting stars… _

He stood up, still shivering slightly, and went to wash off his face in the bathroom. And grabbed a refreshing drink of fruit juice from the kitchen fridge.

* * *

The balcony of his living quarters, by the front entrance, was a good place for stargazing as well.

He wasn't going to be able to sleep for the rest of the night. And wasn't able to after those kinds of nightmares.

He looked out onto the large lake and the part of the city on the other side, the air was nice and cool at this time.

His mind went over his memories.

* * *

_Growing up on Voeld, all he had known was war against the Kett._

_At sixteen, he came of age, and his truemother and truefather gifted him with the rofjinn he now always wore. He joined the Resistance shortly after, desiring to help bring an end to the horrible war, for the sake of all and his siblings and cousins still too young to join the fight. _

_At twenty, he had distinguished himself as a great Resistance soldier, and became captain of a team. He had, by then, helped in mission success and even saved fellow Resistance members. _

_At twenty five, he took the Heskaarl trials, and became a Heskaarl. He would find love with a woman, Sahfi Ina. And would have children with her. _

_At age thirty, he became a Heskaarl captain, one of the highest ranks in the Voeld Resistance at the time. He would suffer twin tragedies within one week- first his wife Sahfi vanishes while on a mission, snatched away by the Kett. Then three days later, the Kett took his whole family, his children included. He spent hours desperately searching the daar, screaming their names in desperation while tears clouded his vision. _

_This nearly broke him, but he renewed his resolve. _

_Three years later, age thirty three, not only was he captain of a Heskaarl unit, he had become the leader of the Voeld Resistance. And it was then that he had leads on a major Kett slave labor camp, where his family possibly was. He lead a raid on the camp, freed hundreds of Angaran prisoners, and wiped out an entire battalion of Kett. However, he found no living family members, but did find a horrific discovery- his wife, and children were among those dead in a mass grave. _

_This nearly shattered him completely, but as the leader of the Voeld Resistance, he knew he couldn't give up, he couldn't let himself get broken. So he forged on._

_Two years later, age thirty five, he had organized the many Angara resistance groups into the organized Angara Resistance, based out of Aya. _

_Five years later, at age forty, he had become something of a legend. Feared by his subordinates and respected by Angara leaders, he was an isolated individual, keeping no close ties, and considering everyone expendable. That way, he was able to guard himself against being hurt, again, like he was in the past. _

_However, this transition wasn't seamless. Angara were an emotionally open people. It was extremely painful, but he pushed it aside, saying in his mind that it was necessary. _

_Five years of that pain, five years of leading the organized Angaran Resistance, and the Pathfinder, Sakura Ryder, arrived unannounced on Aya, her ship aflame from the run through the Scourge to escape the Kett. And in hindsight, a great maneuver, since the Kett have not figured out the path. Her pilot was just that good; and a Salarian, now a cause for reliance, not concern. _

_At first, he did not trust the Pathfinder, or the aliens, at all. He assumed they had sinister motives they were trying to under under a facade of kindness. The Kett were kind during first contact, to trick the Angara into letting down their guard, and the horror started. _

_The Pathfinder proved her trustworthiness again and again. Asking to make sure fixing the vaults on Havarl and Voeld wouldn't hurt Resistance efforts against the Kett. Saving the facility against the Moshae's wishes, which benefited the Resistance when a second return freed everyone else, and a few well place Initiative mining explosives turned the place into a pile of rubble. _

_As time went on, as secret tests of the Pathfinder's character came she passed them, everything Jaal had said...Evfra found his frozen walls slowly thawing out. _

_And for the first time in many years, he __dared to allow __himself to __form attachments. And there was true hope for the first time in so long. _

* * *

Evfra sighed.

_The Pathfinder. _

_He shared common ground with her. He was fighting the extinction of his people at the hands of the Kett. And she was fighting the slow destruction of the initiative. _

Evfra turned to head to his office. He needed to talk to her.

* * *

The Resistance headquarters was quiet at this time of the morning, though sunrise was two hours away.

Evfra entered his office.

Raske was already there, he turned his attention to Evfra. "Up already?"

Evfra sighed. "Couldn't go back to sleep. One of those nights."

Raske had a look of concern. "Nightmare? About the Kett finding Aya?"

Evfra knew he was catching on. "Yes." A pause. "May I use the communications terminal?"

Raske stepped aside. "Yes."

He walked to the terminal, and brought up the vidcon view-screen. And sent a call to the vidcon on the Tempest.

Unlike in the nightmare, the connection succeeded. And it was moments later when the Pathfinder answered.

Pathfinder Sakura Ryder was visible in the view-screen. Jet black hair, sky blue eyes, earth brown skin, and wearing her blue and white Andromeda Initiative uniform.

Next to her stood Jaal Ama Darav, his lieutenant and one of the best fighters in the Resistance.

Sakura spoke. "Do you need anything?"

Evfra paused. "Not in particular…." Evfra closed his eyes for a moment. "...just had to be sure. Earlier, I dreamed that the Kett had attacked Aya. I couldn't reach anyone, the Kett took out the drop-ships and the evacuation ships. We were trapped." A pause, Evfra shuddered. "I had to see corpses and blood on the streets...got pinned to the wall by an Ascendant. And Raske...tried to save me, and the Ascendant broke him so thoroughly I couldn't recognize him anymore...and then the Kett stabbed me with the Exaltation syringes. Woke up as I was becoming one of them."

Jaal's eyes widened. "Stars...Evfra, are you okay?"

Evfra looked to Jaal. "I will be...this one was just worse than the usual." He looked at Sakura. "The Kett finding Aya...if it did happen it would be my worst nightmare come true. The war would be over in weeks."

"Understandable...we'll do our part to make sure they never find Aya." She paused for a moment. "We're on our way, need to restock on Jaal's nutrient paste. And we'll be dropping Danny Messier off on Aya. Talked to Paaran and the ambassador about it." She sighed and shook her head. "He's got to be one of, if not the most, unlucky Humans in the cluster. First tried to join the fight against the Kett, nearly got taken alive. Then tried to help with Remnant, almost got blasted. And then tried to help with fauna and almost ended up kaerkyn food. So I decided he'd be better off with your people on Aya. And plants can't hurt him like fauna, robots, and evil alien bastards can. Maybe best to tell the botanists to keep the possibly poisonous and spiky ones away from him just in case."

Evfra had a small laugh. "We do have a few unlucky people ourselves. Feel free to drop him off here."

Sakura smiled. "Thanks." Her expression more serious now. "I feel bad for him. He was thinking about going to Kadara to 'get wasted' but I don't want him to throw his potential away."

Evfra nodded. "Understandable." A pause, he looked at Raske and back to the Pathfinder. "Need to prepare for my duties."

"Understood." Sakura smiled. "Will see you later."

Jaal looked at his boss. "Take care."

"I will." He ended the transmission and looked to Raske. "You can have your terminal back."

"Thanks." Raske looked at the Resistance leader. "About your nightmare, you said the Ascendant got me. Was it any in particular? The Primus? I know she's dangerous and the second-in-command.

Evfra went into thought. "Don't think so, but couldn't tell. They all look so similar."

Raske closed his eyes for a moment. "Wouldn't dwell on it too much, would distract us from what we really need to do. Kick the Ketts' skkutting asses."

Evfra nodded in affirmation. "Exactly."

_With the teamwork between us and the Initiative, we will prevail. _

_I will not fail my people. _

* * *

**A/N- Evfra de Tershaav is my second favorite Angara, my favorite is Jaal Ama Darav. **

**Felt good giving ****Evfra**** some backstory too. ****If you**** take a ****dialogue**** path in the game ****in which you ask Evfra about himself, he**** says "You're not getting my personal file." **

**The last three days of the Five Days of Halloween is a ****three chapter long ****Sakura Ryder and Jaal fanfic. **


End file.
